Canon Printer Printing Slowly? Troubleshoot the Problem

A Canon printer printing slowly can be caused by high-quality print settings, large photo or graphics files, a slow connection, a crowded print queue, incorrect paper settings, or printer maintenance features that deliberately reduce printing speed. Sometimes the printer itself is not slow at all—the delay happens while the computer processes the document before sending it.

The first thing to determine is where the delay occurs. Does the printer take a long time to start printing, or does it print each page slowly once the job begins? A large photo, for example, may take longer to process before the first page starts, while a printer configured for high-quality output may take longer throughout the actual print job.

Use the diagnosis below to identify the likely cause before changing multiple settings at once.

Quick Diagnosis: Start Here

What you’re seeing	Start here
The printer takes a long time before printing starts	Go to Fix 1
Photos or graphics take much longer than simple documents	Go to Fix 2
Every document prints slowly	Go to Fix 3
Printing became slow after changing print quality or paper settings	Go to Fix 4
The printer pauses between pages	Go to Fix 5
Printing is slow over Wi-Fi or a network	Go to Fix 6
Printing is slow over USB	Go to Fix 7
Several documents are waiting in the queue	Go to Fix 8
Speed dropped after enabling a print-quality or correction feature	Go to Fix 9
The printer remains unusually slow after all connection and setting checks	Go to Fix 10

Why Is My Canon Printer Printing Slowly?

Slow printing doesn’t always mean the printer has developed a hardware problem.

One common cause is the amount of data being processed. Large photographs, detailed graphics and documents with many images can take considerably longer to process than a simple text document. Canon also notes that large photo or graphics files can take longer to start printing because the computer needs time to process and send the data.

Print settings can make another significant difference. Higher print quality generally requires more processing and can reduce printing speed. The selected media type and other quality-related settings can also change how the printer handles a job.

The connection between the computer and printer matters too. A wireless printer with an unstable network connection may pause while receiving data, while a USB connection through a hub or problematic cable can also interfere with normal communication.

Finally, some printer features designed to improve print quality or prevent paper problems can intentionally reduce printing speed. The right solution is therefore to identify what changed and where the delay occurs rather than immediately reinstalling the printer.

Fix 1: Check Whether the Delay Happens Before Printing Starts

First, determine exactly when the printer becomes slow.

Send a simple document containing only a few lines of text.

Then observe what happens.

If there is a long delay before the printer starts

The computer may still be processing the print job.

This is particularly common with:

• Large photographs
• Documents containing many images
• High-resolution graphics
• Large PDFs
• Complex layouts
• Documents with many pages

Canon notes that large photo or graphics data can take longer to start printing because the computer is processing and sending the information to the printer.

Give the job some time before cancelling it.

If the printer starts quickly but takes a long time to complete the pages

The problem is more likely to involve print quality settings, paper settings, printer processing or the connection between the computer and printer.

Continue with the next fixes.

Fix 2: Test With a Simple Text Document

This is one of the easiest ways to determine whether the size or complexity of your print job is responsible.

Create a simple document with a few lines of ordinary text and print it.

Then compare the result with the document that was taking a long time.

If the simple document prints quickly

Your Canon printer may be working normally.

The original document may simply contain too much data for the printer to process quickly.

This is particularly likely with:

• High-resolution photographs
• Large PDF files
• Multiple images
• Detailed charts
• Graphics-heavy presentations
• Scanned documents

Try printing the original document at a lower resolution or with a more appropriate quality setting if the output does not require maximum detail.

If even a simple text document is slow

The problem is probably not just the size of the document.

Continue with the print settings and connection checks below.

Fix 3: Check the Print Quality Setting

Print quality can have a direct effect on printing speed.

If your Canon printer is set to a high-quality or photo-oriented mode, it may take longer to process and print each page.

Open the printer’s print settings and look for options such as:

• Print Quality
• Quality
• Draft
• Standard
• High
• Fine
• Best

The exact options depend on your Canon model and driver.

Canon’s printing documentation shows that print quality is configurable through the printer driver and that the appropriate setting should be selected according to the type of document being printed.

For ordinary documents containing text, try Standard quality rather than the highest available setting.

You can reserve higher-quality settings for photographs or documents where print detail is important.

Then print the same document again and compare the speed.

Fix 4: Check the Paper and Media Type Settings

Your printer may slow down because it has been configured for a paper type that requires different printing behaviour.

Check the selected:

• Paper size
• Media type
• Paper source
• Print quality

Make sure they match the paper actually loaded in the printer.

For example, if you’re printing ordinary documents on plain paper, select the appropriate plain-paper setting rather than a photo-paper or specialty-media setting.

Canon’s printing guidance specifically recommends selecting the paper size and media type that correspond to the loaded paper.

If the printer suddenly became slow after you changed paper settings, return to the appropriate settings for your current paper and test again.

Fix 5: Check Whether the Printer Is Pausing Between Pages

A printer that starts quickly but then pauses for long periods between pages is different from one that takes a long time to start.

Watch one complete print job.

If the printer:

1. Starts normally,
2. Prints part of a page,
3. Stops,
4. Waits,
5. Then continues,

the issue may involve data processing, communication or a printer setting rather than the initial print command.

Try printing a simple multi-page text document.

If the simple document prints continuously but a graphics-heavy document pauses repeatedly, the printer is probably spending additional time processing the more complex data.

If every multi-page document pauses, continue with the connection checks.

Fix 6: Check the Wi-Fi or Network Connection

If your Canon printer is connected wirelessly, a slow or unstable network connection can affect how quickly print data reaches the printer.

This is especially worth checking if:

• The printer used to print faster.
• Printing became slow after changing the router.
• The printer is far from the router.
• Other devices are also experiencing network problems.
• The printer pauses while receiving a job.
• Large documents are particularly slow.

Check that the printer is still connected to the intended Wi-Fi network.

If practical, temporarily move the printer closer to the router and print the same document.

If printing improves significantly, wireless conditions may be contributing to the delay.

For network-connected Canon printers, also check that the printer has not been left with an outdated or incorrect network configuration after a router change.

Fix 7: Check the USB Connection

If your Canon printer uses USB, check whether the connection itself could be slowing communication.

Start by connecting the printer directly to the computer.

If you’re using:

• A USB hub
• Docking station
• USB extension
• Other intermediary device

temporarily remove it.

Canon specifically recommends disconnecting a USB hub and connecting the printer directly to the computer when troubleshooting communication problems.

Also check the USB cable.

A cable can appear to work while still causing unreliable data communication.

Try:

1. Disconnecting the USB cable.
2. Reconnecting it firmly.
3. Using another USB port.
4. Trying another suitable USB cable if available.
5. Printing a simple document again.

If printing becomes noticeably faster after changing the connection, you’ve narrowed the problem down to the USB path rather than the printer’s print mechanism.

Fix 8: Clear Unnecessary Print Jobs

A long or complicated print queue can make printing appear slower than it really is.

Open the printer’s queue and look for:

• Old documents
• Cancelled jobs that haven’t disappeared
• Large files waiting ahead of your current job
• Multiple copies of the same document
• Jobs that are paused

Remove unnecessary jobs.

Then restart with a small test document.

Canon’s troubleshooting guidance recommends deleting unnecessary print jobs when dealing with printing problems.

This is particularly useful when someone has repeatedly clicked Print because the printer appeared not to respond. Several copies of the same document may now be waiting in the queue.

Don’t keep adding new jobs until you know what the printer is doing with the existing ones.

Fix 9: Check Whether a Print-Quality Correction Feature Is Slowing It Down

Some Canon printers and drivers provide special correction or print-quality features that can affect printing speed.

If the printer became slow after you changed a print-quality, paper-handling or correction setting, review the settings you recently enabled.

For example, Canon documentation for some models notes that certain special print adjustments can deliberately reduce printing speed because the printer is performing additional processing or correction.

Similarly, some paper-handling settings intended to reduce paper problems can result in lower printing speed on supported models.

The exact options vary considerably between Canon printer families, so don’t enable or disable a setting simply because the name sounds relevant.

Instead, think about what changed immediately before the slowdown.

If you recently enabled a special print adjustment, return it to its previous setting and test the same document again.

Fix 10: Check the Printer Driver and Canon Software

If the printer remains slow even with a simple document, normal print-quality settings and a stable connection, the printer software becomes a stronger suspect.

This is particularly worth checking if:

• The printer was recently reinstalled.
• Windows or macOS was recently updated.
• You changed the printer connection method.
• The printer was moved from USB to Wi-Fi.
• The slowdown started after a driver change.
• The printer appears to be using a different Canon driver or printer entry.

Make sure the correct Canon printer is selected in the Print dialog.

Canon’s troubleshooting documentation notes that using a driver for a different printer can cause printing problems.

If necessary, download the appropriate driver and software for your exact Canon model from Canon’s support site.

Don’t install a generic or similar-looking driver simply because the printer name appears close.

If the printer is already using the correct software and still prints unusually slowly, test it from another compatible computer if possible.

Why this test helps

If the same printer prints normally from another computer, the printer hardware and connection are less likely to be the problem.

The original computer, driver, print settings or operating system configuration then deserves closer attention.

If the printer is slow from multiple computers, the problem is more likely to be with the printer, its settings, its connection or the print job itself.

How to Prevent Canon Printer Slow Printing Problems

A few simple practices can help keep printing speeds consistent:

• Use Standard or appropriate quality settings for everyday documents.
• Reserve the highest quality settings for photographs and detailed output.
• Match the paper type and size settings to the paper actually loaded.
• Avoid sending unnecessarily large image files when high resolution isn’t needed.
• Keep unnecessary print jobs out of the queue.
• Connect USB printers directly to the computer when troubleshooting.
• Keep wireless printers within reasonable range of the router.
• Avoid enabling special print-quality corrections unless you actually need them.
• Keep the correct Canon driver installed for your exact printer model.
• If the printer suddenly becomes slow, think about what setting, connection or software changed immediately beforehand.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my Canon printer printing so slowly?

Slow Canon printing can be caused by high print-quality settings, large or complex documents, incorrect paper settings, network or USB communication problems, a crowded print queue or certain print-quality correction features.

Why does my Canon printer take so long to start printing?

The computer may still be processing the document before sending it to the printer. Large photographs, graphics-heavy documents and complex PDFs can take longer to process than simple text documents.

Why is my Canon printer slow when printing photos?

Photos usually contain much more data than ordinary text documents. High-resolution images combined with high print-quality settings can increase processing and printing time.

Does print quality affect Canon printer speed?

Yes. Higher-quality settings can require additional processing and may reduce printing speed. For everyday documents, Standard quality is often more appropriate than the highest-quality setting.

Can Wi-Fi make my Canon printer print slowly?

Yes. An unstable or weak wireless connection can slow communication between the computer and printer, particularly with larger print jobs. Check the printer’s network connection and test it closer to the router if practical.

Can a USB hub make a Canon printer slower?

A USB hub or other relay device can interfere with communication between the computer and printer. Canon recommends connecting the printer directly to the computer when troubleshooting USB communication problems.

Should I reinstall my Canon printer driver if printing is slow?

Not immediately. First check the print quality, document size, print queue, paper settings and connection. If the slowdown started after a software or driver change, verify that the correct Canon driver is installed for your exact model.